Lexie started making a list of the discrepancies in everyone’s stories, aided by Nathan until his phone rang.
‘Hey, Jack, how are things going?’
The only Jack that Lexie knew was one of the team leaders at the aircraft components factory that Nathan managed, so she guessed it was a work call.
‘You’re at the hospital. That’s early isn’t it… Three weeks! Don’t worry about anything this end. I’ll sort things out.’ He made a few more calming comments before finishing the call.
‘What’s up?’ asked Lexie.
‘Jack’s wife has gone into labour early. They’re at the hospital. He’s taken leave but I’ll need to move things forward a bit and let Ray know he’ll be covering Jack’s job sooner than expected, and then swap a few things around within the teams. It shouldn’t take too long.’
‘Okay.’ Lexie kissed his cheek. It was bound to take longer than Nathan anticipated.
She popped up to Tilly’s room. ‘Sleep time now.’
A deep sigh greeted her announcement. ‘Okaaay.’ Tilly closed her book. ‘Mu-um.’
Lexie knew from the tone of Tilly’s voice that a question was coming. No doubt one for which she’d need to consult Google.
‘What?’
‘You know I’m growing up now.’
‘Yes.’
‘What did it feel like on the last day that you were a child?’
Oh goodness. No answer from Google on this one.
‘Can you remember or are you too old?’ added Tilly.
‘No, I’m not too old. There isn’t one single last day. Growing up isn’t an overnight thing, it happens gradually, although to parents it feels faster’ She gave Tilly a goodnight kiss. ‘Does that answer your question?’
‘Kind of.’ Tilly pulled the duvet under her chin. ‘So I won’t wake up tomorrow and find that I’m grown up?’
‘Definitely not.’
‘That’s good. Night.’
Lexie pulled the door to, leaving it ajar the amount that Tilly liked. Downstairs Nathan’s voice came from the living room, the conversation still on work topics. She picked up Max’s lead.
‘Come on, Max. Your luck is in. We’re off for a second walk this evening, a visit to Eden with you as my excuse.’
Max was always happy to oblige, especially where a walk was involved, and they strolled down the lane together. While she was determined to get more information out of Eden, Lexie enjoyed the pleasant warmth of the late evening. As they approached the rental house, Eden appeared from the driveway as if Lexie’s wish had summoned her.
‘Hey, Lexie. I’m just out for a walk. I’ve got a headache and thought I’d try some fresh air before resorting to the painkillers.’
‘Max likes a run around the fields further along the lane so we’re heading that way if you’d like to join us.’
Max looked up at the mention of his name and then trotted alongside the two women.
‘It’s very pleasant around here. Nicer than I expected to be honest. You never know with these small towns.’
Lexie felt a little annoyed at Eden’s condescending tone, but then she’d thought much the same when they first had to move here from London. ‘We like it. Large enough for decent shops and schools but not as anonymous as the city. How’s Mitch?’ she added. ‘It’s been a tough day for him to get through.’
‘It’s terrible. He’s bottling up a lot of the emotion, which isn’t good.’
True, but people grieve in their own way. Lexie was about to answer as politely as possible in that vein but Eden carried on.
‘I think it’s important for Mitch’s friends to support him right now. I’ve invited the group to come down here. Mitch needs people around him.’
Mitch might need support, but he didn’t need to be suffocated. He was an adult and could make his own decisions, except that he probably didn’t have the emotional resources to offer an argument against this right now. That’s if Eden had even consulted him before presenting him with her latest fait accompli. What was going on in the woman’s head? Was this part of her agenda to find out what happened to Madelaine, or was she unable to stop meddling? Mitch had other friends. Lexie had noted that Gareth was the only one of the university group asked to speak at the service. Eden was obviously an organiser, pushing her ideas through no matter what others thought.
‘Is everyone coming?’
‘Not immediately. Laurence has some work commitments, but he’ll come as soon as he can. Perhaps the weekend. Spike has some meetings tomorrow, but is coming down after that.’
Hopefully Spike had the sense to book a hotel. Mitch was already staying with Eden, and adding Spike to that mix wasn’t a good idea given his history with Renelle. Life had been simpler before Eden’s name was first mentioned.
‘Things are hard enough for Mitch right now with Renelle dying,’ said Eden. ‘But the police involvement as well. It’s beyond belief.’
Lexie couldn’t keep quiet any longer. ‘Renelle didn’t just die. She was murdered and that means the police are trying to find out who did it.’ Lexie thought she’d managed to keep the words reasonably polite.
‘Yes, sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. It’s just poor Mitch will be their prime suspect.’
No will be about it. He was already the main suspect, as Gareth had been in Madelaine’s death. The difference this time was the police had no doubt Renelle was murdered.
‘Has Mitch talked much about what he thinks happened to Renelle?’
Eden shoved her hands in her hoody pockets. ‘He hasn’t said much at all. I think he’s still coming to terms with everything. I’m not sure if he realises the full implications. He needs to instruct a lawyer before he talks to the police again, but he won’t listen to me.’
That was hardly a surprise considering the group reunions Eden was foisting on him. ‘You think grief might lead him into saying something that… he would regret later?’
‘I don’t believe that Mitch killed Renelle, but he’s not in a good position alibi-wise. Perhaps he might take more notice of a suggestion to hire a lawyer if it came from someone with a more objective view.’
From not knowing these people, suddenly they were all asking for her help. ‘I won’t promise anything, but if the opportunity comes then I’ll talk to him.’
Eden appeared content with the answer. They stopped at the entrance to the fields and Max dashed off, chasing invisible creatures. Lexie usually strode around the edge of the field but Eden leaned on the gate gazing at the sun which was seemingly balanced on the tops of the trees in the far field.
‘Do you think there’s any connection between the two deaths, Madelaine and Renelle?’
Eden looked startled. ‘A connection?’ She rested her arms on the top of the fence gate, massaging her temples. She scrunched up her face, whether in pain or concentration at the question, Lexie wasn’t sure. The silence between them melded into faint birdcall and the occasional yip from Max. After a few minutes, Eden straightened, now tapping her fingers on the gate. ‘I can’t see how there is a connection. I mean, it’s a long gap between the deaths. Do you think there’s something?’
‘The only link I’ve come up with is that they were friends, part of the same group. That’s the only reason I asked.’
‘I suppose sometimes we have to accept that there are coincidences in life.’
‘What makes you so certain Madelaine was murdered?’ Lexie gestured that she wasn’t finished yet; certain Eden would interrupt with the same things she’d said before. ‘I happen to agree with you, but not your reasons. Put those thoughts aside for a moment. Your instinct tells you she was murdered, and I’m a believer in instinct, but we need to look deeper to figure out what triggered it. What was the motive for killing Madelaine? Why then? Was the timing important or a coincidence? Had she discovered something or was it to prevent her finding out something?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You all spent the previous weekend together.
Did something happen there?’ Emotions had run high those few days at Little Stillford, but if she played the innocent ignorant she might find out more, or discrepancies which might be useful.
‘I’m sure you’ve talked to Helen.’
‘Not really. Until you visited I wasn’t aware she knew Madelaine. Over the past few weeks, Helen has been stressed, so I’ve kept away from the subject.’ Not totally true, but Lexie doubted Eden would ask Helen.
Eden gave an exaggerated sigh and gestured back the way they’d come. ‘Shall we walk?’
Lexie whistled for Max and only when they started along the lane did Eden begin to talk.
‘I think Helen had fallen for Gareth while he was still going out with Madelaine. She was always very guarded, but I’d put money on her being in love with him long before they got together.’
Lexie was a little surprised, expecting Eden to start talking about the weekend at Little Stillford, especially as Lexie had now seen the stone circles and village. She guessed Eden had a reason for her comment ‘What did you think about that?’
‘Nothing at the time, because it’s only in hindsight I realised it.’
‘Do you think Gareth felt the same?’
Eden shrugged in an indifferent attitude which Lexie considered too rehearsed. ‘Helen wasn’t obvious about her feelings, but they’re married.’
‘What do you think about them being together?’
‘It’s not that I don’t like Helen, but she’s not Madelaine. We got on well enough in the flat, but I guess seeing her and Gareth together reminds me of what could have been, those days at university when anything was possible. I think it’s one of the reasons I spend so much time out of the country. A lot of people think I’m totally career-focused, and they’re probably right, but it’s also to avoid being reminded that Madelaine’s not here. Whatever else might have happened, we would still be best friends.’
So far Eden hadn’t told her anything she didn’t already know and certainly not a reason for someone wanting to murder Madelaine.
‘What about the trip to Little Stillford?’
‘The weekend began well. We hadn’t caught up as a group for ages, but then the old irritations and annoyances appeared. Spike’s never been good at hiding his feelings and he started on Renelle. I tried not to add to them. When we lived in the flat at university it was really difficult, but only seeing her occasionally made things easier.’
‘What caused the problems between you?’ Lexie kept her expression neutral.
‘I thought someone would have told you. Renelle had the hots for Mitch from the first time she met him. She didn’t try to hide her feelings, always hanging on his every word, sitting next to him whenever we went out. I tried not to let it get to me as Mitch never sought her out. I guess she and I just didn’t hit it off. We niggled at each other around the flat. I think the letter incident and Renelle being made to leave was awful, but I wasn’t sorry when she moved out of the flat. Life was a lot calmer with Helen as a flatmate.’
‘Did anything happen that weekend that could have led to Madelaine’s death?’
‘We had dinner together and drank a lot. Spike was being his usual self and I think Gareth tried calming things down. You’ve seen the place and know what it’s like. The restaurant was busy and we were up and down going to the restrooms and the bar. It was a warm evening and we sat outside.’
‘Did you go for a walk? It’s quite a romantic type place.’ That wasn’t Lexie’s opinion of Little Stillford. Nathan was fascinated with the stone circles but for the moment she was ambivalent about it.
Eden snorted and then spoke. ‘I didn’t find it romantic.’
‘Somebody said that Madelaine was upset during the evening.’ Lexie wasn’t happy at showing Eden she knew a little about the weekend, but perhaps it might jog Eden into telling her something she didn’t already know.
Eden studied her, probably calculating how much she’d been told. ‘Madelaine and I were on our way to the restrooms or the bar, I don’t remember. Anyway, we bumped into Renelle away from the table. She said something to us that I didn’t understand at the time, but it freaked Madelaine and she said she needed to get away for a few minutes. We walked through the trees to the stone circles.’
There was another long pause. Lexie wanted to sigh. Eden was really dragging this out. ‘Did Madelaine explain what upset her?’
‘I don’t like talking about this. It’ll give you the wrong impression of Madelaine and makes me feel as though I’m betraying her.’ And then, as if she were having teeth pulled, she said, ‘Madelaine told me she was sleeping with Kurt Levy.’
Lexie had hoped Eden would give her some new information, but she didn’t let on that Mitch had already told her about this. ‘Did Renelle threaten Madelaine?’
‘It didn’t appear that way to me at the time, but…’ Eden let her shrug speak for her. ‘Madelaine was worried sick that Gareth would find out.’
‘Were you surprised?’
‘About her cheating on Gareth. Yes, it wasn’t like her at all. And while Madelaine was my closest friend, I cared about Gareth as well and I knew it would hurt him.’
‘Did you tell anyone?’
‘Of course not. I didn’t condone what Madelaine was doing, but I kept her secrets. I’m not sure how other people found out, but it wasn’t through me.’
‘And you went back to the restaurant then?’
‘Pretty much. Madelaine thought a branch snapped or something. She was worried someone had heard us.’
‘Do you think that’s possible?’
‘Could be, but not necessarily anyone from our group. The place is a magnet for visitors. I’m sure it was Madelaine’s nerves playing up.’
‘What did you do after Madelaine drove off?’
‘Spike and I jumped in his car and drove after her. Gareth had already gone off on Laurence’s bike. I was worried about both of them.’
‘Did you catch them up?’
Eden shook her head.
‘Do you think she hit the young girl?’
‘No, I don’t. Madelaine said it wasn’t her. She didn’t lie to me.’
Lexie didn’t dispute Eden’s assertion, although she could have pointed out that Madelaine had lied to Eden about sleeping with Kurt, or at the very least not told her.
‘And you didn’t see anything while you were driving around?’
‘Nope. It’s all narrow lanes and high hedges and little roads leading every which way. Spike and I drove around for a while and eventually found ourselves back in the village. We decided that Gareth had probably found Madelaine by then and we went into one of the other bars. A group of tourists decided to party back at their holiday rental and so we joined them. I can’t remember what time we got back to the hotel.’
Their walking pace slowed as they rounded the last corner before reaching the house where Eden was staying.
‘When was the last time you saw Madelaine?’ asked Lexie.
‘She rang me to say that Gareth had finished with her and he had moved out to a mate’s place. I went straight round to see her. She was pretty distraught. I know what you’re thinking. She was an awful person having an affair so she got what she deserved, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in love with Gareth. I don’t think she’d considered what a life without him might mean.’
‘Did Madelaine say Gareth knew about the affair?’
Eden hesitated before answering. ‘I’m not sure. I guessed that was the reason he finished with her.’
Which wasn’t what Gareth told Mitch or what Helen said. For the moment Lexie didn’t want to continue down that rabbit hole. ‘Why didn’t you stay with her?’
‘What?’
‘If Madelaine was so upset at Gareth leaving, why didn’t you stay with her that night?’
They stopped at the end of the driveway and Eden massaged her temples. The headache must still be troubling her. She bit her lip before answering. ‘I’ve asked myself the same thing a hundred ti
mes. I don’t know. She said she didn’t need me to stay, that she was okay and was going to ring Gareth and try to talk to him. Mitch and I had argued and there were things I needed to sort out with him.’ Eden pulled her sunglasses off her head and put them on even though the sun had disappeared. ‘Take your pick.’
Gareth said Madelaine hadn’t told him about Kurt and that he’d finished with her simply because he wasn’t in love anymore. He also said he’d tried ringing her but she hadn’t answered. Had Eden left because Madelaine wasn’t alive? Surely not, they were best friends.
‘Why would someone want to kill Renelle?’ asked Lexie.
‘I don’t know. Why are you asking me?’
‘Because I think you’ll give me an honest answer. Most of the others would observe those unwritten niceties of not saying anything bad about the dead.’
‘I don’t know why someone would want to murder Renelle. She could be irritating and frustrating and she didn’t worry whether or not she annoyed people. Some people might say that’s a description of me. Is that a reason for murder? If so, then there should be dead bodies everywhere.’
Those reasons were exactly the ones that caused the majority of murders, ordinary human frailties and annoyances multiplied by days and weeks and years.
‘Are you and Mitch close now?’
Eden shrugged in a deliberately casual way. ‘It was years ago. I spend most of my time out of the country so we haven’t seen much of each other over the years.’
‘All very civilised.’
‘I wouldn’t kill Renelle because she’s married to Mitch, if that’s what you’re asking.’
Eden turned on her heel and strode up the driveway back to the house, her shoulders rigid.
15
Lexie Wyatt
Nettleford, Dorset
2018
Two hours after she had gone to bed, Lexie was still awake. Beside her, Nathan slept peacefully, his arm flung across her stomach, while her brain buzzed with anecdotes, opinions, differing stories and questions she wished she’d asked. Not wanting to wake him, she waited until Nathan turned over and then slipped out of bed and crept downstairs into the kitchen.
The Worst Lie Page 18
